


Crimson flower but better Episode 1

by IYS1



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower, Edelgard - Freeform, Fire Emblem - Freeform, Hi Angie, Maybe some romance idk, Multi, Original Characters - Freeform, Violent, new ending, please enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IYS1/pseuds/IYS1
Summary: My goal with this is to go through the events of the Crimson Flower route with a more character focused narrative, new conflicts, a different ending, and other details. If you have any questions or suggestions I would appreciate them greatly. Inspired by the YouTube video “How to fix crimson Flower” by Armads4Prez.





	1. Crimson Flower But Better: Episode 1 Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [How to fix crimson flower](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/717703) by Armads4Prez. 



A bright light and pain, that was the last thing that Byleth could remember. She tries to pull her thoughts and memories together after awakening from her sleep that has gone on who knows how long. Her clothing is intact and her blade, the sword of the creator, is still at her side, but while she looks fine, inside she is a hurricane. Thoughts of her beloved students, the Black Eagles and those she recruited Lorenz, Mercedes and Felix, what happened to them, where are they, and most of all, are they safe?

  
Before she knew it she had wandered to the entrance of what was once the goddess tower, even Byleth wasn’t sure why her legs took her in this direction, but she ascended the stairs anyway. Byleth had only entered the Goddess tower once, she happened to meet one of her students, Edelgard von Hresvelg there. Edelgard… What happened to her? She was the one that Byleth was the most worried about, the burden she had put upon her own shoulders, could she withstand it? As if answering her own internal questions, she reached the top of the tower, to see a figure standing and watching the sunset. That figure was dressed in an elaborate red garb, with a headdress bearing horns upon a head of pure white hair.

  
She seemed to be talking to herself, before she noticed byleths presence, she turned quickly, as if ready to face an enemy. Her eyes were dull, like she was out of touch with reality, before those eyes locked onto Byleths, and they changed and turned bright, as if a seal had been broken. “P-professor?!” Edelgard exclaimed, her voice sounded far more mature and commanding. Edelgard rushed towards byleth, who could only stand in awe, as her hand was grabbed by the other woman before her. Edelgard rubbed byleths hand, as if confirming whether it was real, before pressing it to her own face to feel its warmth.

  
Tears began forming in her eyes as she began to yell, “Where were you?! What have you been doing all this time? I searched for days but I couldn’t find you! I tried to keep everyone together these last five years as best I could but…” Edelgard fired off rapid fire questions, but only one statement repeated in Byleths head. “Five years?!” She responded, which only added to the confused look on Edelgards face. Edelgard moved closer and pulled Byleth into her embrace, tears still flowing down her cheeks. Nothing but confusion flowed through byleths mind, but the only thing she could do was return the embrace of her student. Suddenly, as if realizing what she was doing, Edelgard pulled away as quickly as she had pulled byleth to her, as her face turns as red as the outfit she wears.

  
The amusement of seeing that her student hasn’t changed as much as she thought was enough to snap Byleth out of her confusion as she begins to answer Edelgards questions. “Yes, I don’t know exactly what happened, but I believe I’ve been asleep for these past 5 years, I just woke up in the river outside the monastery.” Byleth answers to Edelgard, whose face now looks less like a tomato. She initially looks shocked, but that look softens as she begins to think about it. “If anyone else were to give me that story I would never believe it for a second, but it seems entirely plausible coming from you professor.” She responds.

  
Edelgards face begins to turn red again before saying her next statement. “You mentioned to you don’t remember much, do you… remember the promise you made? You said no matter how many enemies amassed, you would stay by my side.” Edelgard asks. Suddenly a wave of memories flows back to Byleth, the battle at the monastery, facing the knights of seiros, and Rhea. She falters for a moment as all of that information unloads itself into her consciousness, Edelgard reaches her hand to help steady Byleth, but she regains her footing. “Yes Edelgard, my feelings haven’t changed, I will stay by your side until the very end.” Byleth says with a satisfied smile on her face. And once again Edelgard is bright red, she turns away from Byleth and inches away as if to hide herself.

  
Suddenly a flash of silver catches byleths eye, and she turns to see a blade in the darkness, a blade that reveals itself the moment it’s presence was noticed, a lithe man in black clothes with accents of yellow and a bow around his back leaps towards the adrestian emperor. “DIE!!” The man yells as he launches an attack towards edelgards throat. Byleth barely had time to draw her sword before the tables turned. The blade was inches away from edelgards face, but the danger was nonexistent, Edelgard had grabbed the throat of the assassin without even looking, in fact her face still looked embarrassed from byleths previous statement, but that quickly faded. The assassin slashed the blade at edelgards arm to attempt to free himself, but it bounced off of her arm, it seems she was wearing rather thick armor underneath. Edelgard grabs the knife with her gloved hand and crushes it between her hands as if it was made of putty, and then strikes the assassin with a blow that sends him flying into the wall, and he instantly goes limp.

  
“That makes seven.” Edelgard calmly says as she looks back to Byleth. “Why did that man attack? What happened these last five years?” Byleth asks bluntly. “The war I began with the church those five years ago, it hasn’t ended. We are at a standstill now, but still at war.” Edelgard explains. The truth shocks Byleth, and both of their expressions darken, Byleth from the realization that her students have been fighting without her to help, and Edelgard for her failure to end the conflict she hoped would end after one battle.

  
“After Rhea transformed and you were defeated, our forces were put in disarray, the knights of seiros were able to escape in the confusion, and the empire backed off from the monastery, and it became something of a ‘no man’s land’” Edelgard continues to explain the events of the last five years. “Then what are you doing here if this is neutral territory?” Byleth asks. “Well… uh… that’s” Edelgard stammers until she turns her head towards the assassin, who had miraculously recovered from the blow he received. He had his bow out with a flaming arrow already knocked, and he fired into the sky. As if to make up for her slowness before, Byleth quickly unsheathed the sword of the creator and slashed at his body, knocking him off the tower, but his expression of pain turned into one of satisfaction before he plummeted to his death.

  
“That was a signal arrow, reinforcements will be here any minute now.” Edelgard says. “Reinforcements? From who? Where?” Byleth asks. “The alliance, they’ve feigned a position of neutrality and have begun to move in on Garreg Mach to take a strategic position, I’ve been waiting for my own reinforcements to come but they haven’t arrived yet.” “Then it seems it’s up to us then.” Byleth readies her sword. “So it seems professor, so it seems.” Edelgard says as she walks towards the corner, out of a case she reveals a strange weapon, it was axe like in shape but the material itself was like “a crest weapon? But I thought-“ Byleth exclaims before being interrupted by the neigh of a horse, or rather a Pegasus, 3 to be precise.

  
They circle around the goddess tower before their riders leap off and jump onto the tower. All three ignore Byleth and rush towards Edelgard with their spears. “Not this time!” Byleth yells as she extends the reach of the sword of the creator, as its whip-like blade wraps itself around the leg of one of the attackers. Byleth pulls the hilt, which cuts off the leg of the rider instantly, and Byleth stabs him through the chest as he falls, however some may consider him lucky.

  
The other two leapt towards Edelgard, one going for an overhead strike and the other going for an upwards slash. A fine strategy that had obviously been practiced countless times, but it would be the last time that technique would be used by them, as Edelgard unleashes the power of the weapon in her hand. In one fluid motion, she catches the weapon coming from above while her other hand attacks using the axe, striking down onto the spear from below, shattering it like glass. She follows up with a kick that sends the lower attacker flying towards Byleth, who cuts down the man as he flys. The other attacker lets go of the spear as soon as he realizes he won’t be able to match the strength of the demigod before him, and he unsheathes a short sword.

  
He launches a forward thrust, a clearly desperate move that had none of the thought and strategy of the previous attack, which is proven when Edelgard dodges with a small movement to the side, and while he is off balance, his thigh is impaled, as Edelgard immobilizes him with his own spear. Byleth is amazed, she didn’t think such movement was possible for someone wearing heavy armor, but Edelgard was able to move with the grace of someone wearing no armor.

  
“Now then…” Edelgard says as she stands above the attacker “How about you start by telling me who your leader is.” The Pegasus rider shows none of the ferocity from the beginning of the battle, as he begins to tell them every part of their operation. “W-w-w-we are led by lady Judith! We are 40 men strong and have come to take garreg Mach oh my god please don’t kill me!!!” The man begins to cry loudly, and Byleth gives him a swift chop to the neck in order to shut him up.  
Byleths eyes wander towards the weapon Edelgard was using, it was moving on its own and had a crest stone inside it. “To answer your previous question, this is Aymr, a custom made crest weapon made for my specifications.” Edelgard says as she walks towards the stairs. “So what’s our plan?” Byleth asks. “Wasn't that always your job?” Edelgard responds, and now it’s Byleths turn to have a blushing face.

  
“W-well tell me about this Judith lady he was talking about, I’ve never heard of her.” “Ah well that’s easy, she’s one of the finest warriors the alliance has ever known, even to this day she is feared despite her age, certainly a tough opponent.” “Do you think we have a chance?” “The two of us versus forty alliance soldiers? A piece of cake really, but throw Judith in the mix and the odds are against us.” “But you mentioned reinforcements, could they give us a chance?” Edelgard and Byleth reach the bottom of the stairs as they see multiple alliance soldiers getting into strategic positions, archers in high places and cavalry to the sides. “Well professor, let’s see if your good luck remained over the last 5 years shall we?”


	2. Crimson Flower But Better: Episode 1 Part 2

All things considered, the battle against the alliance soldiers was going rather well. Byleth was the sword and Edelgard was the shield, both moving with grace though the battlefield and perfectly balancing out each other’s shortcomings. Byleth had the range to cut down soldiers before they came anywhere close, and Edelgard had the defense and power to take on any foe that managed to get through Byleths assault. As Byleth tired, she would swap to using nosferatu to heal her minor wounds as tiredness, as well as take down enemies too terrified to come within her range.

  
“Professor behind you!” Edelgard suddenly yelled. Byleth turned to see a group of seven archers lined up atop the ruins, each with bows drawn and all aimed squarely at her. As quickly as Byleth registered that information, all of the archers loosed their arrows in unison. Byleth panicked, she wouldn’t be able to knock every arrow down, nor would she be able to dodge all of them, and she was almost prepared to take the arrows, before a flash of red and silver appeared before her eyes.  
“BEGONE!” Edelgard yelled defiantly, now wielding a silver shield bearing an alliance insignia. With a large swing of her new shield, all of the arrows were parried, and were either broken or sent flying. Once again Edelgards combat abilities and reflexes astounded Byleth, but she also felt a twinge of sadness, how many battles had Edelgard gone through during these five years in order to become what she is now? “Thank you Edelgard” Byleth managed to say in gratitude.

  
“No problem professor, but our battle is not over yet. Come, we must deal with the enemies in those ruins!” Edelgard responds as she advances towards the area that the archers are, who were panicking and desperately trying to organize another volley. The two warriors reach the base of the ruins, Edelgard kneels down and raises her shield above her head. Byleth immediately understands her intent and feels some pride in seeing Edelgard had gained such a strategic mind.

  
Byleth backs up and begins to run, she leaps up on top of the shield, Edelgard yells as she thrusts the shield upward which launches Byleth skyward. While in mid air she sees the archers, all lined up on the roof, each one scanning the ground for them, not realizing their enemy was above them. Byleth unlocks her blade and extends it to its fullest extent and launches a wide horizontal slash, an attack that hits every archer. Some of them die on impact, while others lose their balance and fall off, right into Edelgards territory.  
One of the archers who survived both Byleths attack and the fall from the ruins was attempting to crawl away until armored boots stepped in her path. “Tell me where Judith is and I will make your death swift.” Edelgard coldly demanded to the wounded soldier. “There’s no need for that” a new voice loudly stated from across the field. There stood Judith, wielding a well maintained rapier, and no guards.

  
“Well well well, if it isn’t the little emperor herself, pretty far from your castle aren’t you Hresvelg?” Judith proudly taunted, there is nothing but confidence in her voice despite her disadvantaged position. “And what’s this? Could that be the enlightened one I’ve heard so much about? Though that title hardly seems fitting considering the circumstances.” Judith says as she points her sword towards Byleths elevated position.

  
“The hero of Daphel, stories of your valor even reached the halls of Enbarr, have you come to surrender I hope?” Edelgard responded, clearly trying to resolve this encounter with wordplay rather than swordplay. Could Judith really be that strong, even with her age? Byleth thought to herself, and as if in answer, Judith broke into a sprint and closed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye. Judith thrusts her rapier forward, which is caught by Edelgards large shield, but something is obviously wrong. That move seems amateurish, an attack like that is an easy way to break not only your weapon, but yourself. Despite this Edelgard is the one pushed back, and Judith continues her assault.  
Byleth prepares herself to leap off the ruins and join the duel, before an arrow flies past her cheek. She immediately jumps backwards and takes a defensive position, and identifies three enemies. One is the archer who shot that arrow, he stands with a new arrow already knocked. The next is a soldier with a silver axe carried over her shoulder. But the one in front is the person who catches Byleth by the most surprise, there stood Raphael, the gluttonous and big bodied member of the Golden Deer house, wielding silver gauntlets and a grim expression upon his face. “That was your only warning Miss Byleth, please surrender.” Raphael states with a sad tone.

  
Edelgard hardly had a chance to breathe, that was how ferocious the attacks coming her way were. She had faced faster opponents in the past, her training sessions with Petra had prepared her for someone like this, but never before had she faced an enemy this skilled. Each strike was carefully placed, each one with timing and precision along with lightning speed that forced Edelgards reflexes into overdrive. Finally Edelgard saw a chance to strike back and she swung overhead with aymr, which was gracefully dodged, but the impact of the crest weapon striking the ground was enough to send Judith flying.

  
“What are you doing here Raphael? You don’t belong on a battlefield!” Byleth blurted out, her surprise got the better of her and she spoke her mind. “I am here for my family! Lady Judith and Claude will end this war, and if that goal requires my strength, then I will gladly give it. Now I ask again, please lay down your sword.” His expression is pained, and Byleth can tell that he’s still the soft hearted man that she shared meals with back at the officers academy, but yet; “I can’t do that Raphael, I have a promise to keep. Stand aside.” Byleth responds as she readies herself for the worst. Raphael lowers his head, she can’t see his face, but Byleth can see the pain in his heart as clear as day, and suddenly a guttural battle cry rings out, as he runs towards Byleth at breakneck speed.

  
“Surrender Judith!” Edelgard demanded; “The empires reinforcements will be here soon, you have no hope of winning.” Edelgard is scared for the first time since she can remember, and she glances down at her shield to see the state it’s in. It’s in worse condition than any shield she had ever seen, it looks like a strong enough gust of wind could turn it to dust, every strike Judith landed targeted points that would lead to it crumbling as it is now. “Reinforcements eh? What a coincidence, I have some of those on their way too. Once we confirmed that the Adrestian Emperor was hanging out in the ruins of Garreg Mach, our friends in the alliance were glad to send their best cavalry to our aid, I wonder who will get here first?” Both warriors yell defiantly as they launch at each other once more.

  
Byleth could barely keep up, under normal circumstances this fight might have been a piece of cake, but these were far from normal. Raphael wasn’t too fast, but that didn’t matter due to how much hesitation was in Byleths swing, each attack filled her head with memories of her time at the academy, and the large smile on raphael's face during the holiday feasts. Raphael was able to deflect each swing with his silver gauntlets as he advanced closer and closer with each deflection. The other two soldiers couldn’t get close, the archer hesitated due to his ally in his line of sight, and the axe wielder couldn’t get close with the flurry of attacks coming from the extended sword of the creator, eventually Raphael was able to get in close range, and Byleth was too deep inside her own head to realize. He deftly deflected the sword with one hand and used the other to attack byleths hand, disarming her and sending the sword flying off the roof.

  
Edelgard brought an axe to a sword fight, in order to preserve her shield until a critical moment, she used her axe like a sword and barely managed to parry the blows. Byleths words from the academy come rushing into her head, about how axes have a natural disadvantage against swords due to their shape, normally she would be able to rely on an ally in this scenario but she can’t depend on help now, that’s a lesson she learned long ago. Out of something like desperation or frustration, Edelgard struck with a horizontal slash, but again this was dodged, this time by Judith leaping upwards and twisting in the air, who then followed up with a mid air strike. This was an attack she couldn’t dodge, and so she raised her shield in pure desperation, and was met with that shield breaking in her hands, the impact of which knocked her down onto her back. Before she knew it Judith was on her, with the tip of her rapier pointed towards the center of her forehead.

  
Byleth was disarmed and backed against the edge of the roof. Raphael suddenly backed away, prompting his allies to go on the attack. Byleth readied her magical skills as the archer launches a consistent volley of arrows, each arrow was burnt out of the sky by Byleths fireballs, but this isn’t a strategy she will be able to use forever. Meanwhile the axe user is upon Byleth, her wide swings are easy to dodge, but even one will prove fatal. Having to multitask between blocking the arrows with magic and dodging the axe caused her to neglect Raphaels location, who was suddenly in her blind spot. He throws a crushing blow to her liver, causing her to yell in pain and brings Byleth to her knees. Raphael calls the archer over and tells him to hold Byleth down, both Raphael and the archer have her pinned. Byleth looks up through blurry eyes to see the axe wielder holding the axe above her head, and ready to bring it down in a second.


	3. Crimson Flower But Better: Episode 1 Part 3

Edelgard never expected her death would be so bright. The swordswoman above her, wielding a silver rapier pointed directly at her face, had her face shadowed by the sun directly above her. The sunlight shines off of the rapier, further masking the image of Judith, the hero of Daphnel. Of all the times to think of them, why does Edelgards brain choose now? Her mind drifts to her childhood, in the courtyard of the embarr palace.

  
“Ouch!” A much younger Edelgard exclaims as a training sword is pointed at her. She looks up with a pained expression to see her older brother, Lelouch von Hresvelg standing above her with a grin on his face and his light brown hair flowing in the summer wind. “That’s a point for me El!” He announces with a grin, afterward cheers erupt from around her. Edelgards siblings, young and old, had come to watch the duel, along with young members of other noble families, the Aegirs, the Bergliezs, and even the Nuvelles.   
  


“Lady Edelgard!” A voice yells from behind her.  
Hubert von Vestra came rushing to her side with speed unlike an unathletic boy like him, wielding a handkerchief in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. “Are you unharmed? Any injuries? If you would like I can…” Hubert goes on as he cleans with blinding speed and gentle grace, wiping all dust and dirt from Edelgards small form with bruised hands. “I’m fine Hubert, please relax.” Edelgard assured him, though she has learned at this point nothing will cure his level of worry sickness.

  
“Can we consider the matter of the final cake slice settled then?” Lelouch asks as he makes an act of dramatically sheathing his training sword, despite the lack of a scabbard. “No! I refuse!” Edelgard stands with newfound energy. “You must pay for your crime! On the name of the Hresvelgs I swear it!” Edelgard announces loudly with pure passion, which is met by giggles from the older audience but cheers from her younger sisters. “You do realize we share that very name right? But so be it, I can do this all day.” Lelouch responds with a confidant smirk, followed by the swoons of just about every lady in the audience.  
Edelgard grabs her training sword full of rage and is ready to sprint at her older brother of 3 years, before a hand grasps her shoulder. Before she has a chance to turn and see who it was, Huberts voice whispers in her ear; “I heard that Lord Lelouch recently was met with an injury to his left leg, good luck Lady Edelgard.” And as quickly as he appeared, Hubert disappears into the crowd. That little pep talk gave her a chance to cool off and see what he meant, Edelgard scanned Lelouch's battle stance and noticed the fatal flaw, almost all of his weight is focused on his right leg, he’s practically on one foot.

  
If she could take advantage of tha- “Wake up!” Lelouch suddenly yells as he dashes towards Edelgard, or perhaps leaps would be a more apt description. What may have seemed like a well practiced forward dash was really just a forward hop off of one foot, he lands on his right foot as well and is now within Edelgards range. However she was too distracted coming up with some sort of plan in order to take advantage of his flawed stance, and was nearly the victim of a forward thrust of his training sword, but she managed to leap out of the way just barely. Lelouch seems genuinely surprised she was able to get out of the way, he clearly wanted the match to end right there.

  
Edelgard leaps into action, screaming with all her 7 year old lungs could muster. She swings and thrusts her sword at complete random, in a normal fight this would be practically unacceptable and would be met with a swift counter, but if it’s against an opponent fighting on one leg, then it’s a different story. Her brother can barely keep up, backing up on his one leg is all he can do to avoid the attacks. Finally, she sees the perfect opening, he’s off balance and backed into a corner, so she attacks with a forward thrust at his upper chest, but it barely misses its target. Lelouch leaned back, his back arched as far as it could handle, but this only worsened his fate.  
Since he leaned so far back, he couldn’t stay on his feet with only one foot, and he finally had to use his injured left leg to stay upright. He yells in pain as all of his weight is transferred to his injured leg, but no mercy is shown by his younger sister. Pure power seems to flow through her very being as she grips the sword with both hands, and steps forward, bringing the full force of her body weight into a swing directly targeted at Lelouch's midsection. He gasps for air as the blow knocks every bit of oxygen out of his body, not to mention the three ribs that were obliterated by that attack.

  
Edelgard raises her sword with a victory cheer, but no one joins her, she opens her eyes to see her family members surrounding her brother, all worried about his injuries. The realization of what just happened all comes rushing to her at once; “I-i didn’t! I mean it was my- you should’ve- the crest!” Edelgard can hardly find the words to say until eventually her hand is grabbed and she is pulled away, she looks to see a boy with a head of auburn hair pulling her away from what would eventually become an angry mob. They are both followed closely by Hubert, who is somehow wearing both a grim expression and a slight smirk.

  
“That was incredible!” The auburn haired boy exclaims with stars in his eyes. They had retreated to Edelgards room and locked the door, dashing past maids and butlers along the way. The boy prances around the room, mimicking Edelgards movements from the battle without a care in the world that he had just entered a girls room, not to mention the room of the future emperor. “Will you please quiet down Aegir, you are in the presence of her majesty lady Edel-“ Hubert attempts to say before being interrupted. “Yes yes I haven’t introduced myself yet! My name is Ferdinand von Aegir!” He announces before returning to his prancing. Edelgard and Hubert look at each other with expressions that can hardly be described, before they both start to laugh, and any and all tension was eradicated from the room.

  
Why did Edelgards brain feel the need to remind her of that day, who knows? All that it taught her is that she’s definitely a sore loser, that hasn’t changed then, and it absolutely hasn’t changed now. “Begone Emperor!” Judith announces as she attacks. Edelgard moves her head out of the way just in time, it misses her skin but it hits the horned crown upon her head, shattering it into pieces and letting her hair fall down naturally. “Hmph, stubborn little girl.” Judith says with an annoyed look on her face. “You hear that? That’s the sound of cavalry, looks like my forces won the race as well, it’s a shame they won’t make it in time to see-“

  
Judith wasn’t able to finish her sentence, her animal-like instincts told her to guard herself, and that saved her from the two spears that swung at her simultaneously. She is sent flying, she hits the ground hard and scrambles to her feet, but she is clearly shaken. “Who dares!” Judith yells at the newcomers, who are both on horseback. One wears heavy armor colored gold, he holds a large shield in one hand and a unique silver spear in the other. However his long auburn hair makes his identity clear, the great knight Ferdinand von Aegir sits before Edelgard proudly. To his right sits his polar opposite, a knight upon a horse coated in black armor, the man himself wears similar armor to match, and wields a lance charged with the power of electricity. That form is one that Edelgard recognizes all too well, the dark knight Hubert von Vestra.

  
Byleth closes her eyes, not because of the pain she is feeling from the blow to her liver, it is out of acceptance. She decided that this must be her punishment for abandoning her students when they needed her, while she was taking a power nap they were suffering, this must be fate. She hears the sound of something swinging against the wind, and she prepares herself for the worst, but it never comes. Byleth raises her eyes to see her executioner has been executed, with a tomahawk sticking out of her back. Byleth surges with new energy as she looks up to try to find the perpetrator.

  
“Dammit no!!” Raphael yells as two figures descend from the sky. A wyvern and a black Pegasus land on the roof of the ruins, each one carrying familiar faces. Dismounting from the wyvern is a man sporting a short blue haircut and heavy armor, he stoically walks over to the corpse of the axe wielding soldier and pulls his tomahawk out of her back. Still mounted on the black Pegasus, two women sit atop it, one with dark purple braided hair and a traditional looking outfit, wielding a brave sword in one hand and wind magic coursing through the other. The other woman has long and beautiful brown hair, she wears red robes reminiscent of the outfit of a dancer, and she holds a levin sword in her right hand.

  
“C-Caspar?! Petra and Dorothea!? How?!” Raphael stammers, he fumbles back in surprise which matches Byleths own. The other soldier grabs his bow and readies an arrow aimed at the lightly armored women on the black Pegasus, and he is met with blasts of lightning and wind magic together, launching him far off the roof. “Please stand down Raphael, you are outmatched here.” Dorothea says with a serious tone that Byleth had never heard from the songstress. Raphael falls to his knees, and one of his damaged gauntlets falls off of his arm, his eyes seem blank and emotionless.

  
Dorothea dismounts the Pegasus and walks up to him slowly, meanwhile Petra runs up to byleth and pulls out a vulnary to treat Byleths wound. “Professor! It is you! I am the happy to see you have safety!” Petra excitedly says as she rests Byleths head on her lap. Byleth turns her head back towards Dorothea, who is standing right in front of the kneeling Raphael now. “We can settle this without any more bloodshed, please come with us!” Dorothea says as she reaches out her hand, meanwhile the other hand wielding the levin sword is shaking. Raphael looks up into her eyes, and they begin to wander around, they first move to Caspar, then to Byleth and Petra, but they finally land on his ally on the ground, who died upon the impact of the tomahawk.

  
His eyes fill with color again, and he begins to stand, but his mannerisms and posture tell his intentions clearly. Byleth attempts to yell a warning but the words won’t leave her mouth, and even then it’s too late. Raphael throws an uppercut from his crouched position with his unarmed hand, but it’s not Dorothea who receives the blow. Caspar recognized the threat long before anyone else, and shoved Dorothea out of the way, receiving the punch himself, but he didn't even flinch. “I’m disappointed man.” Caspar blankly says, with a tone that realistically shouldn’t be coming from someone who just took a blow from Raphael.

  
“I-I-I can’t!” Raphael yells as he throws another punch, this time with the hand wearing the gauntlet, at Caspars midsection. That area is armored, but it still sends Caspar back a few feet. “I can’t decide! I don’t want to die, but you and your war have killed my friends! But you all are my friends too, and then I have my family to think about!” Raphael yells at the sky in frustration, his booming voice sends shivers down the spines of everyone on the roof. “Raphael, I-“ Byleth attempts to speak until Raphael changes again, his limbs go slack and he stares at Caspar with new fire in his eyes. “I guess… the only thing that I can do…” Caspar readies his axe “is do what I came here to do!” Raphael screams as he launches himself as Caspar, and their foreheads clash in the center of the roof, their arena.

  
Two horses circle around the hero of Daphnel, both of their lances trace a circle around her as they drag in the dirt. Judith is stuck in the middle of this, every time she attempts to find an opening to exit her prison, they speed up or block her way with their spears. Speaking of those spears, both of the one of a kind spears wielded by both knights must also be throwing Judith off. In Ferdinands hands he wields the spear of Assal, a magic weapon that once belonged to the knight of seiros Seteth, since they both have the same crest, he can use the full potential of the spear in the same way as Seteth could. In Huberts hand is the Arrow of Indra, an experimental device given to him by those who slither in the dark, it draws from the users magical potential to use the power of lightning.

  
“Look at those two showing off their toys.” A new voice speaks from behind Edelgard. She turns quickly to see a green haired bishop with a large book strapped to his waist. “Oh, it’s only you Linhardt.” Edelgard says in relief. “Well it’s nice to see you too, your majesty.” He responds in a sarcastic tone as he kneels down to begin using his healing magic. “What a mess we’ve been caught up in, all because of your yearly tradition.” Linhardt taunts as he finishes mending her minor wounds, to which he gets no response as she buries her head in her hands out of embarrassment.

  
Finally Judith makes a move, she launches herself straight at Hubert likely after determining he was the less armored of the two, right as she makes her move Ferdinand responds, riding directly at her back with his lance ready to swing. Hubert is also ready, and launches a blast of lightning out of his spear in her direction. Judith is hit in the arm by this attack, which sends her tumbling underneath the body of the horse. She manages to recover quickly, abandoning her weapon as she escapes through a passageway in the ruins that someone on horseback wouldn’t be able to follow. “You fool!” Hubert yells at Ferdinand as he rears his horse to get out of the way of his charge.

  
“You let her escape you imbecile!” Hubert begins to criticize Ferdinands plan of attack, completely ignoring their escaping enemy. “I let her escape? You’re the one who caused this! If you had just blocked her attack I would've had her!” Ferdinand responds in kind as they both bicker and insult each other, a tradition Edelgard had hoped she would be able to escape today, but it seems she’s all out of luck. She and Linhardt sigh in unison as they slouch against the walls of the ruins, all tension leaving their bodies.

  
After Raphael and Caspar clash in the middle they both follow up with right hooks to both of each other’s jaws, causing both of them to fall in opposite directions, practically trading starting positions. Raphael grabs the silver axe of his fallen comrade off the ground and takes a unique stance, a silver gauntlet in one hand and the silver axe held over his shoulder with the other hand. Caspar immediately launches at Raphael, their axes clash and the silver gauntlet is met with caspars bare hand, and it has become a pure test of strength. Byleth groans as she tries to sit up; “I must help, I left you all alone for so…” Byleth can’t finish her sentence as she stumbles back down.  
“You must be forgiving me professor, but even if you could fight, that I cannot allow.” Petra says as she continues to rub medicine onto Byleths injured areas. “A warrior's pride is the most important thing, this is a battle you cannot be stopping.” Petra says, but Dorothea clearly has a different opinion based on the look upon her face, and the fire magic dancing in her fingers. Byleth worries for every person on that roof if Dorothea is even half the mage she was 5 years ago.

  
From an onlooker's perspective, the fight between Raphael and Caspar must seem like David vs Goliath, Caspars size pales in comparison to his opponent, and yet he is losing no ground. Caspar matching Raphaels strength is the result of pure effort to prove himself, the loud and fun loving Caspar battles the larger man with a smile on his face. “How? How can you smile after all of this!” Raphael yells as he tries to make a final push to take the advantage, and that’s exactly what Caspar was waiting for. He suddenly stops the test of strength and slips underneath raphaels arms, completely shattering his balance and leaving him wide open.

  
Dorothea averts her eyes as Caspar lets out a battle cry, leaping at Raphael and cutting his back open with a huge overhead slash. Raphael falls face first, but attempts to catch his fall with his free hand. However he can no longer support even his own weight, and collapses onto the ground. “I should have… I should have listened to you Dorothea.” Raphael says with some of his final breaths. Dorothea runs over to him and holds his hand, tears beginning to well up in her eyes; “Please, keep my family safe, that is all I…” Raphael says with his last breath, as his hand loses its life and falls out of Dorotheas grasp.


	4. Crimson Flower But Better: Episode 1 Part 4

“Lady Edelgard, are you unharmed?” Ferdinand and Hubert both say in unison after they finally finished their argument, which ultimately ended in a tie. They both look at each other in annoyance and seem like they are about to begin round 47 of this month, until Edelgard gets between the two heavily armed manchildren. “Yes, you two I am just fine thanks to Linhardt. Thank you for the assist, but there are other matters to attend too.” The sound of wingbeats against the air catch the attention of everyone on the ground as a wyvern and a black Pegasus descend to the ground.

  
Four passengers dismount, Petra comforts Dorothea, with eyes red from tears. From the other comes Caspar, supporting a very familiar face. “Hey guys! Boy do I have a surprise for you!” Caspar excitedly yells as he points at the green haired woman he is supporting. Byleth manages a weak wave as Ferdinand, Hubert and Linhardt both rush to her, the two knights abandoning the weapons that they were planning on impaling each other with. Hubert couldn’t resist replacing his usual sarcastic smirk with a smile of genuine joy. Linhardt inspects her from every angle as if to make sure this wasn’t a well made statue or something. Ferdinand grips her shoulders as he excitedly states; “It really is you! I can’t believe you’re here pro-“”FESSOR” a new voice shouts as suddenly a new horse leaps through the ruins.

  
The horse gracefully leaps past all of the rubble before its rider launches itself off of the horse, and a small purple cannonball collides with Byleth. When the dust settles the former students of the Black Eagles see that their final member has arrived, Bernadetta von Varley, clutching their professor like a human sized teddy bear. “PROFESSOR PROFESSOR I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE IT'S ME BERNIE!” Bernadetta screams with tears of joy in her eyes, meanwhile Byleth has stars in her eyes as that final blow took the last bit of energy she had. Edelgard and Caspar manage to pry Bernadetta off of their professor as Linhardt and Dorothea get to work using their healing magic.

  
Once Byleth had recovered most of her energy, she and her former students sat down in the ruined area of Garrag Mach, and an awkward air fills the space. That silence is broken by Caspar, and with no tact whatsoever, asks; “So? Where have you been these last five years Professor Byleth? Were you dead?” A collective sigh of annoyance fills the air, but deep down everyone present is grateful for Caspars unrelenting straightforwardness, none of them would’ve been able to break that silence on their own. “Well that’s-“ Byleth starts before a horn blares throughout the ruins.

  
“Be holding onto that thought professor.” Petra states before leaping into action, climbing up the narrow ledges of the ruins like it was second nature to her, which it actually probably is. She reaches the top of the ruins to see a terrifying sight, a small army of Alliance soldiers, featuring cavalry and falcon knights galore, with Judith at their head. Petras' mind flashes to the similar sight of the Empire army advancing on Brigid soil in her childhood, but she shakes those thoughts away as she scales back down to her allies. “The enemies approach, they are many.” Petra announces, which is met by mixed responses from the listeners, but the most surprising of all would be Bernadettas.

  
“We’ve got this!” Bernadetta declares as she pulls a unique bow off of her shoulder; “Let’s go Jeritza!” She says as a figure emerges from the shadows. A tall man in black spiked armor somehow even darker than Huberts appears out of nowhere. “Right.” He blankly says as he follows Bernadetta, dragging a scythe of black steel behind him. Of all the surprises that Byleth has been met with today, that sequence of events might be the biggest shocker yet, the meek Bernadetta who didn’t have a shred of confidence in herself, now beaming with it, and Jeritza the death knight being her ally had never fully set in, even when they fought side by side.

  
“Er… have you been there this whole time?” Dorothea meekly asks with her eyes wide open in surprise, which relieves Byleth to know she wasn’t the only one starstruck by this. “Yes, now move, you’ll spoil the fun.” The platinum haired man coldly replies as he whistles, a few seconds later a horse adorned in similarly spiked armor gallops to his side. Bernadetta the bow knight and Jeritza the death knight ride out to meet the army on their own. “What the hell are they thinking?! They’re going to get themselves killed!” Ferdinand says as he searches for his spear with desperation. “Calm yourself Aegir, there is far more to their strategy than meets the eye, or have you not been paying any attention?” Hubert responds to Ferdinand with a condescending look, along with his sarcastic smirk that has returned.

  
Bernadetta and Jeritza are side by side as they reach the exit to the ruins, and are met by an army of around 100 soldiers about 25 meters ahead of them. Two figures separate themselves from the main force and walk forward, stopping in the field 10 meters away from the two knights. One of them is Judith, she has replaced her rapier with a brand new one, along with a hexlock shield on her injured arm. Next to her is another familiar face, Ignatz of the Golden Deer stands by her side wielding a brave bow and a stoic look upon his face.

  
“Well isn’t this an insult, of all the people to meet me and my forces, that woman sends the recluse of house Varley and a crazy man, give me a break.” Judith taunts, clearly not shaken by her loss back in the ruins. Her taunt is met by both knights raising one hand in the air, neither of them giving an inch. “What’s this? Are you here to surren-“ She is interrupted by a surprisingly loud yell from Bernadetta; “Ready!” Followed by a yell from Jeritza “Aim!” Ignatz grabs the arm of Judith and attempts to pull her back into the formation. “FIRE!” The two knights yell, which is immediately followed by a tidal wave of arrows and fire balls that erupt from the ruins.

  
Tens of arrows tear the proud alliance archers to shreds, and the fireballs knock the flying knights out of the sky, transforming the alliance formation into pure chaos. Judith shields both herself and Ignatz from the volley, parrying fireballs and arrows using her shield, while Ignatz tries to pull the archers together to organize a counter attack, but it’s no use. A cackle fills the air from Jeritzas location; “This amount of blood…” he says as he begins to spin his scythe above his head; “IS FAR FROM ENOUGH TO SATIATE ME!” He screams with pure bloodlust as he charges into battle straight at the two alliance generals.

  
Ignatz and Judith dive to the side in order to avoid a slash from the scythe of Sariel, the death knights’ unique weapon of choice. Ignatz rolls, drawing an arrow and points it directly at Jeritzas face, a face whose eyes have changed to a new color. “I ask you Death Knight, what became of the other alliance general who was sent here, Raphael?” Jeritzas' smile turns sour as he responds to the question with a coldness reminiscent of his other personality; “Ah yes, him, indeed he has already met his demise. A single blow was all it took to end his existence, how boring.” Ignatzs’ stance stiffens, and his arms begin to convulse in rage, he loosens the arrow but it misses its target without even needing to be dodged.

  
“Boring.” Jeritza says as he spurs his horse and charges at Ignatz, readying his scythe to strike down the young man who has seemingly lost the will to fight. However his strike is stopped, Judith now stands in his way, holding his scythe back with both her shield and her sword. “Wake up Ignatz! This battle is lost, we must retreat to the bridge!” Judith manages to say before getting blown away by a bolt of lighting launched from Jeritzas other hand. The shock of that sight is enough to snap him out of his trance, he scrambles to his feet and hoists Judith's arm over his shoulder. “You won’t escape.” Jeritza coldly says as he rears his horse to pursue the generals, however he is intercepted, out of the smoke of the carnage appears two great knights bearing alliance colors.

  
“Please escape Lady Judith, Sir Ignatz, live to fight another day!” One of them declares as they cross their spears to block Jeritzas path. However their warning does not stop the Death Knight, his charge only speeds itself. He launches a Thoron spell at the knight on the left, launching the knight into the air, followed by Jeritza leaping off his horse to meet him in mid air. The great knight doesn’t have time to take another breath as his head is chopped clean off in mid air by the death knight. “No! I’ll kill you you bast-“ the other knight is unable to finish his sentence as two arrows strike his neck, killing him instantly.  
Those arrows were launched by the bow wielded by Bernadetta, the Inexhaustible, a sacred weapon tied to the crest of Indech with nearly unmatched ranged abilities. Jeritza grunts as he mounts his steed once more and scans the battlefield, all of the alliance forces are either dead or have long since retreated. He sighs as his eyes begin to change back to their natural color and the two knights return to the ruins. Byleth and the black eagle strike force could only watch in amazement from their cover.

  
The two were met with a standing ovation, Dorothea gave Bernadetta a proper bear hug, crushing her with more than just her arms. “That was amazing Bernie! How did you do that?!” Dorothea says with a voice full of joy. Meanwhile Jeritza was met with a bow of respect from Edelgard and Hubert. “Well done as always Jeritza, I’m glad to see you.” Edelgard says. “Indeed, the empire scouts reported an approaching force from the northeast, myself and Bernadetta were dispatched with our personal forces to join with your reinforcements.” After that statement the eagles finally noticed the presences around them, the forces that launched that wave of arrows and magic where all hidden in strategic locations in the ruins, mages and archers emerged from every nook and cranny of the area.

  
“With this number of soldiers…” Hubert ponders to himself. “Yes, we will now establish Garrag Mach as our new forward operating base, send word to the main army at once.” Edelgard orders Hubert without hesitation. “Forward operating base? What does that mean?” Caspar says as he scratches his head, still not able to keep up with anything that doesn’t involve fighting. “The alliance mobilized here to take a strategic position of attack on the empire, that means that Claude's faction is preparing something big. This war has been at a deadlock with the kingdom for the past five years, we must prevent this conflict from becoming a war on two fronts. To achieve that end, we will take the Alliance!” Edelgard declares to the newly reformed Black Eagle Strike Force, and begins a new turning point in the war.


End file.
